CIMAP October 2012 Newsletter

1 www.cimap.co.za ⇢

Message from the CIMAP BoardDear CIMAP Members,

As the year starts to wind down and head towards its close we welcome all the new members who have joined us this month! It is heartening to see the support that CIMAP is gaining, as the swelling numbers allow us an even larger voice in these turbulent times. CIMAP is aware, from studying its membership database, that many members are independent assessors or small providers and we know that the economy and approaching ‘silly season’ often have a dampening effect on the revenues of these stakeholders so we appreciate greatly the decision you have made to become a membe r o f C IMAP and p a y y ou r membership fees.

Our efforts as a professional body, and as a representative of assessors, is steadily gaining momentum. Recently, the ETDP SETA approached us to consider taking on the role of Assessment Quality Partner (AQP) for its national, QCTO-‐registered,

assessor awards. This is a great honour for CIMAP and it is a testament to every member that has put their hand up (and into t h e i r p o c ke t ! ) a n d j o i n e d u s t o professionalise the industry for the good of the entire skills development agenda.

While some employers and assessment providers are setting CIMAP membership as a prerequisite for recruitment, many CIMAP members have joined voluntarily, and their agreeing to abide by a set of rules and code of ethics is a wholly self-‐started initiative.

At CIMAP we see this as a genuine desire to self-‐regulation and improvement of assessment quality and ethics. But there are

other benefits that accrue to members of a professional body like CIMAP. These include:

Enhanc i ng you r n e two r k – a professional body is a synergistic group and being in the company of like-‐minded people is better than being on your own. Operating as an independent assessor can be lonely and being a member of CIMAP will give you access to people with whom you can network;

Finding a mentor who can assist you to get through a difficult project or enhance your assessing/moderating skills and practice -‐ of course, you can also become a mentor to a new assessor or moderator, which can become immensely fulfilling – and can earn you va luab le Cont inu ing Professional Development (CPD) points; Cont.

ASSESSMENT TALKThe Chartered Institute for the Management of Assessment Practice

(CIMAP)

Board Members:Chairperson: D.E Damons MSc; (FCIEA U.K) Vice-‐Chairperson: Prof. M. Mehl, Prof. D S. Matjila; Dr. W. Guest-‐Mouton;Dr. K. Deller;Mr. P. Mathebula (BEd Hons)Mr. T. Tshabalala;Dr. W. Goosen, (FCIEA U.K);Mrs. R. Pillay (M.Ed.);Dr. M. Serfontein, (FCIEA U.K);Dr. L. Meyer, (FCIEA U.K);

HEADOFFICECIMAP Suite 16Republic RdBordeauxRandburg -‐ 2125

T -‐ 011 329 9000F -‐ 086 218 4466W -‐ www.cimap.co.zaM -‐ [email protected]

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Newsle^er Editor: Regional Conveners:H. D. Edwards EC L. Findlay Limpopo T. Tshabalala GA H. Van Twisk KZN J. Topping CPT S. Louw FreeState S. Lala Ethics H. D. Edwards

REGION KZN 1st Floor Cowey House Morningside Durban -‐ 4001REGION WC CIMAP Suite West Block Tannery Park 23 Belmont Road Rondebosch -‐ 7700

INSIDE THIS ISSUELabour market challenges -‐ 4 FAQ Professional Bodies -‐ 5

A rethink on qualifications -‐ 8

Recognition of Prior Learning -‐

ETD events -‐ 10


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Enhancing your knowledge – CIMAP members are encouraged to share information and often CIMAP secures information from the national educational structures first and is able to disseminate this through its membership base. In an environment where ‘knowledge is power’ this has proved incredibly valuable to members and allowed them to stay ahead of their competitors who are not CIMAP members;

Showing a prospective client (or employer) that you are serious about your role as an assessor by listing your CIMAP professional designation and membership status on your CV, email signature and other credentials. It shows that you have committed to stay up-‐to-‐date with your profession voluntarily (through CPD) and that you have committed to a set of ethical standards. This puts you ahead in the recruitment game;

Avoiding the need to re-‐invent the wheel each time you have a need – while CIMAP members may see themselves as competitors there is already a great deal of sharing going on throughout the network. At the moment it is mostly limited to information but ideally it will expand to the sharing of projects, assessment documents and templates over time.

At CIMAP we are aware that ‘no person is an island’ and by coming together and putting our ‘islands’ together we can build a ‘land mass’ of knowledge and professional integrity in the domain of assessment practice.

The board of CIMAP salutes all new and established members and we welcome your suggestions and participation.

Yours in assessment excellence!

The Department of Higher Education and Training has changed the registration requirements for FET Colleges. FET Colleges will no longer be required to register with the Department if they only offer qualifications that fall under the jurisdiction of the QCTO or the body nominated by the QCTO i.e. a SETAs.

A joint communiqué has subsequently been issued by SAQA, DHET and the three Quality Councils providing guidelines on the registration and accreditation of skills development providers in the terms of the Skills Development Act, 1998. These guidelines will be forced until they are replaced by long term requirements. The communiqué (Join Communiqué 1 of 2012) is available on the website of the Department of Higher Education and Training and SAQA.

The following information was supplied by DHET in a communique to accredited providers registered with DHET:

Skills development providers must note the following aspects and consider the implementation thereof in terms of the registration as a private FET College.

Private skills development providers, who are not yet registered with DHET and that wish to offer only qualifications and/or part-‐qualifications on level 1 -‐ 10 of the Occupational Qualifications framework (OQF), will not be registered with DHET. They must only apply with the

QCTO or the body to which the QCTO has delegated such a function in order to be accredited as skills development providers.

Private skills development providers, who are currently, registered with DHET and Further Education and Training (FET) Colleges for qualifications and/or part-‐qualifications on levels 2 – 4 of the OQF and that wish to continue with their current offerings, need not apply for re-‐registration with DHET when their registration period ends.

However, after the registration period ends and they still wish to continue offering these or additional qualifications and/or part-‐qualifications on levels 2 – 4 on the OQF, they are required to apply for accreditation to the QCTO or the body which the QCTO has delegated such a function.

Private skills development providers, who are currently registered with the DHET and wish to extend their scope of provision to offer additional qualifications or part-‐qualifications on levels 2 – 2 of the OQF, must apply for accreditation to the QCTO or the body to which the QCTO has delegated such function

It should however be noted that if the providers above are also offering qualifications and/or part-‐qualifications that are on the Higher Education Qualifications sub-‐framework and/or the sub-‐framework of UMALUSI, they MUST be registered with DHET as Private Higher Education Institutions and/or as Private FET Colleges.

Amendments of Council of Registration

Relating to the amendments, note that should you want to amend/change any aspect of your registration as a private FET College (i.e. qualifications, sites of delivery, legal name), you will be de-‐registered as a private FET College upon provision of proof of accreditation by the QCTO as a skills development provider. The de-‐registration will not affect the credibility and the recognition the institution enjoyed as a registered private FET college in any negative way as long as it is accredited by the QCTO or any agency delegated such a function by the QCTO.

Please note that all the above does not relate to any registered private FET College that offers qualifications or programmes that fall on Levels 2 – 4 of the sub-‐framework of Umalusi (i.e. the General and Further Education and Training Qualifications Framework (GENFETQF). Such a college must remain registered in terms of the FET Colleges Act and related Regulations and has to remain such registration.

Should you have any query regarding the matter, you may contact DHET on 012 312 5567.

MESSAGE FROM THE CIMAP BOARD CONT.

CIMAP IS PROUDLY

ASSOCIATED WITH SABPP; PRISA & SA PAYROLL

ASSOCIATION

CHANGES TO FET COLLEGE REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS BY

DHET

CHANGES TO FET COLLEGE REGISTRATION CONT.


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Month-‐by-‐month hundreds of aspiring Training Providers apply to any one or more of the SETAs -‐ hoping for a speedy acceptance of their application for accreditation.

Everybody wants a bite of the fruit from the tree of learning.

Q -‐ Is it possible to expedite a bureaucratic process?

Q -‐ Is the local ETD landscape known for its ability to process anything quickly?

A moot point -‐ one that always generates healthy and vigorous discourse. That notwithstanding -‐ one must look at every step of the process before one finds fault with an ETQA or with a SETA. It is a sad fact of life that there is not one seamless (logical) process across the board -‐ each SETA has its own processes, steps and requirements; requirements which have been known to create irritation, distrust and in some cases disgust but rarely delight.

Let us examine the requirements although in reality there is only one overriding criterion. All you have to do is to convince the SETA that you are not going to emigrate tomorrow and leave your Learners in the lurch; convince the SETA that you have a solid foundation in your business that conforms to every law and Act known to man and you are A for Away. Surely that is easy -‐ my business is solid -‐ is yours?

One would think so yet increasingly Providers are exposed for running a dubious business where business practice is based on making a quick buck -‐ NOT on Learner support and certification.

However, this article does not seek to address a lack of values; neither does seek to expose those Providers who are here today and gone tomorrow.

So what should a Provider do to expedite the process of becoming accredited?Let’s deconstruct the process by asking these questions.Q -‐ Is your business a registered legal entity (with CIPC)?

Q -‐ Is your business financially stable?

Q -‐ Do you have a valid and current tax clearance certificate?

Q -‐ Have you earmarked Registered Constituent Assessors who have evaluative expertise in the subject matter you offer?

Q -‐ Have you appointed a registered Internal Moderator for the courses you wish to offer?

Q -‐ Is your material properly aligned and has the material been declared fit for purpose by your Internal Moderator?

Make sure that all the ETD Practitioners serving the business are suitably competent and registered with the relevant SETA where registration is required. Us this list as your guideline.

Trainer -‐ should be a subject matter specialist in the topic being trained; should ideally have attained competence in (minimum) US117871; no requirement to register with any SETA/ETQA

Assessor -‐ must be competent in US115753 (minimum); must be registered with the SETA that is representative of the Assessor's evaluative expertise

Moderator -‐ must be competent in US115759 (minimum); must be registered with the SETA that is representative of the Moderator's evaluative expertise

SDF (Skills Development Facilitator) -‐ various competencies that can be attained; for the SDF to upload WSPs and ATRs the SDF must register with the SETA that represents the client's field of business (based on SETA and SIC codes)

Learning Material Developer -‐ various competencies that can be attained; there is no mandatory SETA registration process

Coach/Mentor -‐ various competencies that can be attained; there is no mandatory SETA registration process

Project Manager (Learnerships) -‐ various competencies that can be attained; there is no mandatory SETA registration process

The next (but probably most important) step is to create a Quality Management System (QMS) that will form the foundation of the entire ETD process in your organisation.

The QMS will contain all the policies to drive successful implementation and the SETA will want to see not only that the policies are in place but that you implement and regularly review the policies and associated procedures.

The overarching policies include but are not limited to: -‐

Learning Programme Design & Development procedure

Learner entry, guidance and support

Marketing strategy

Human Resource Policy

Financial Management

Audit & Review system

Health & Safety in training

Management Reviews

Assessment and Moderation

Training Committee, Reporting and Predicting

Appeals and Complaints

Management of physical resources

Names of policies may differ across the SETAs yet the principles of ETD co-‐ordination and administration remain the same. Your organisation may already have some of these policies where they serve the business -‐ the caveat is that they must refer specifically to ETD, with proof of sustainable implementation.

EXAMPLE -‐ If you already have a Management Review System in place in your business then make sure it includes review of ETD implementation.

EXAMPLE -‐ If you already have an OHS policy in place then make sure it covers Health and Safety as it relates to learning and development, i.e. building floor plan in each training room, clearly marked emergency exits, visible fire extinguishers, first aid kit with Office Manager, proper and safe conduit for cables, evacuation plan on the wall in the reception area and so forth.

Is this an insurmountable task? No. The process is governed by law so presumably you run a business based on sound ethical principles. You may not be ready to embark on your quest for accreditation if you do not already have these or similar policies in place in your organisation.

Heidi D Edwards (PCIMAP) pays her dues to CIMAP &

the Ethics Institute of South Africa

MANAGING ETD PROCESSES IN YOUR ORGANISATION BY IMPLEMENTING A QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

!


PRESENTATION BY HERMAN MASHABA, CHAIRMAN OF THE FREE MARKET FOUNDATION AT SACCI ANNUAL CONVENTION ON 5 OCTOBER 2012 No one can deny, or hide the fact, that South Africa’s unemployment has reached crisis proportions. I address my concerns over the crisis, not as an economist, or as a labour expert, but as a simple South African businessman who has been an employer for the past 27 years, by just applying common sense to the situation. I fully understand how the bitter experiences of black South Africans during the days of the evil Apartheid system led to the adoption of the labour laws we now have. During the darkest days of Apartheid, black South Africans could not sell their labour to the highest bidder and had to endure many forms of oppression, such as having:

No labour representation

No rights whatsoever for black employees

Race-‐based labour legislation

Pass laws that prevented us from moving to where we could get better jobs

Accommodation far from places of work

Limits on the promotion of black employees to more senior positions, and

Transport problems that are still with us today

Given this history, it was to be expected that after 1994 the labour laws would swing in the other direction, giving greater rights to workers and less rights to employers. The intention was to make sure that the Apartheid-‐style exploitation of black workers would never happen again. But this approach is not working out as was intended. It does not take into account the realities of economics and of doing business. We now have the unfortunate situation that the labour laws that were intended to make life better for the poorest South Africans are making their lives worse. Instead of having secure jobs, with decent wages, 7.5 million members of the potential workforce have no jobs at all, which is a disaster. The situation is dangerous for peace and security in the country.

An imbalance has now been created in the other direction. The labour laws have gone too far. Certain aspects of the laws need to be reconsidered. Urgently!

They are obviously wrong, just as the Apartheid laws were wrong. Now, 18 years into our democracy, we need to get the country to accept that two wrongs never result in a right. Equality before the law, as required by the Constitution, has to be applied in the labour field. The law must give the unemployed as much of a right to get a job as the employed have to keep their jobs.

As I have said before, I am not a labour expert. I am also not a lawyer, but it is surely possible to give unemployed people access to jobs without endangering the job security of the people who have jobs. We are told that a two tier labour market is unhealthy. But we have the worst possible two tier market. Our first tier consists of people who have jobs and earn wages. Our second tier consists of people who have no jobs and earn no wages. I am convinced that the jobless people in the second tier would be very happy to accept less job security, lower wages, and safe but not wonderful working conditions, rather than be permanently unemployed. Their human rights demand that they have the right

to make their own choices on a matter that is so critical to their survival and the well-‐being of their families. The lawyers must work out how to change the labour laws so that the human rights of the unemployed, to work, instead of being barred from working, can be restored to them.

Another issue that sticks out like a sore thumb is the lack of entrepreneurship and small business ownership in our country. It seems to me that we have gone backwards since 1994. There appears to be less initiative and less risk-‐taking by small firms than there was prior to 1994. How can this be when we are now free of the burden of Apartheid? In other countries, especially in the EU, small firms employ the majority of the people. This should be the same in South Africa.

One of the problems for small firms is the centralised bargaining system and the ability of Bargaining Councils to impose their decisions on all firms in an industry. The system has had negative consequences for small firms and their employees. For instance, despite the protests of the factory workers, who wanted their employers to be left alone, small Newcastle clothing factories had to close down because they could not afford to pay the minimum wage set by the Bargaining Council. The result was that the workers lost their jobs. Instead of getting less than the minimum wage they got no wage. The minimum wage, which is in theory intended to protect workers from exploitation by employers, actually exploits the unemployed. It prevents them from getting jobs that pay them “something”, which is better than nothing.

Stimulating small firms does not require subsidies.What is absolutely essential is to reduce the burdens on them. Such as regulation, labour compliance, bureaucracy, and tax burdens. Set them free to supply goods and services to their customers and take away the unnecessary hassles and costs. Let them concentrate on their businesses. Small firms have the potential, not only to increase economic growth, but to provide the jobs we so badly need to reduce our mass unemployment. What is more, small firms are the ones that train the young and teach them skills, employ the otherwise unemployable, and bind together the entire economy. Instead of giving them subsidies, government should exempt them from the most onerous laws. The ones that are actually intended to regulate big business. Lift the burdens and small firms will flourish.

Another problem, which is compromising the future of South Africa’s young people, is a lack of proper basic education. They pass through the schooling system and emerge without basic literacy and numeracy. Tragically, a large percentage of our young people, instead of facing an optimistic future full of promise, face a bleak future of unemployment and poverty. Lack of money for education is not the problem. Taxpayers are providing R207 billion (20% of the total budget) for spending on education in 2012/13. A Stellenbosch University researcher recently reported that South Africa has a dual schooling system, “a dysfunctional system which operates at the bottom end of African countries, and a functional system which operates at the bottom end of developed countries.” So schooling is another crisis, and management of schools and quality of teaching appear to be the source of the problem.

Cont.

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The laws and regulations that have become a barrier to employment must be

removed.

L[e]ARn


The issues I have discussed have consequences for the country and its economy. The results show up clearly in international research that compares the policies and actions of governments in various countries. The Economic Freedom of the World 2012 Report (co-‐published by the FMF), ranks South Africa 85th (out of 144 countries measured) on its level of economic freedom, down from 41st in 2000. South Africa has dropped 44 places in a decade. Sliding down the scale has negative economic implications. The freer economies perform better than the less free economies and do better on all measures, including the incomes of their poorest citizens. The countries at the top of the economic freedom rankings are Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand, Switzerland, Australia, Canada, Bahrain, Mauritius, Finland and Chile. The five countries at the bottom of the rankings are Angola, Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe, Myanmar and Venezuela. The US, which was always near the top of the rankings, has plunged to 18th position, behind countries such as Estonia and Qatar, showing that reduced economic freedom can even bring down the mightiest economies.

The cornerstones of economic freedom are:

Personal choice

Voluntary exchange

Freedom to compete, and

Security of privately owned property

South Africa’s Ratings in the Economic Freedom Report (out of 10) on Labour and Business are:

Hiring regulations and minimum wage (4.43)

Hiring and firing regulations (2.46)

Centralised collective bargaining (3.39)

Bureaucracy costs (2.88)

Other reports also reflect poor results for South Africa on the matters I have raised. South Africa’s rankings, for instance, in the 2012 Global Competitiveness Report show the following results (out of 144 countries measured):

In measuring Labour market Efficiency –

Co-‐operation in labour employer relations (144) – stone last

Flexibility of wage determinations (140) – fourth from the bottom

Hiring and Firing Practices (143) – second from the bottom

Pay and productivity (134) – 10th from the bottom

In Measuring the Quality of South Africa’s Institutions –

Business costs of crime and violence (134) -‐10th from the bottom

Burden of government regulation (123) – 21st from the bottom

South Africa’s economic policies need to change if we want to see the economy grow, reduce unemployment, reduce poverty, reduce crime and violence, and improve the quality of life of all the country’s people. Some people are proposing that there should be more government spending, the hiring of more government officials, and a bigger role for government in the economy. These proposals would all come at the cost of the private sector of the economy and lower economic growth. My view is that the accent should be on a freer economy and more reliance on the private sector. All the evidence shows that free economies do better, in all respects, than centrally controlled economies. I must admit that when we were working to get rid of Apartheid I thought it was freedom we wanted. Not freedom from want, but freedom to do our peaceful business without constant interference that borders on oppression.

The following are some of the things that I suggest South Africa should be doing to eliminate mass unemployment and improve the lives of all our people:

Remove the fear of taking on staff

Remove minimum wages that make people unemployable

Fix education

Adopt pro-‐growth policies

Apply the rule of law

Move South Africa to the top 20 ranking in economic freedom

Make South Africa the fastest growing economy in the world

I truly hope and pray, for the future of our country and our children, that all our leadership, political, business and civil society formations, realise and arrest this danger before it is too late.

We have no reason or justification whatsoever to say to them that we saw what was happening and did nothing.

Time is not on our side

And I thank you.

Question 1

Will all professional bodies, which include professional associations/institutes, be required to apply to SAQA for recognition on the NQF?

Answer

If a professional body or a professional association wishes to be involved in the education and training environment and wishes to co-‐operate with the relevant Quality Council (QC) in terms of qualification development and quality assurance it must apply to SAQA for recognition. The three QCs are:

The Council on Higher Education (CHE) for the Higher Education sub-‐framework

Umalusi for the General and Further Education and Training sub-‐framework

The Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO) for the Trades and Occupations sub-‐framework.

Question 2

What are the implications for a professional body that does not what to be recognised?

Answer

The professional body may continue to function as before, however the extent of its involvement in the formal education and learning environment will be limited.

Question 3

Can a professional body register members on learnerships?

Answer

Professional bodies may register its members and employees on learnerships as long as the professional body is not the accredited provider of the qualification coupled to the learnership.

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PROFESSIONAL BODIES FAQwww.saqa.org.za/show.asp?id=2786 -‐ 12 October 2012 at 16:37

ADVERTISING IN THE CIMAP NEWSLETTER

Contact [email protected] to showcase your ETD services in our newsletter


Question 4

Why may a professional body not be an accredited training provider?

Answer

Potential problems may arise when professional bodies have to quality assure their own offering to learners and assess the learner. An additional area of conflict could arise when a professional body, which is also an accredited provider, is required to accredit other providers for the qualifications it already offers.

Question 5

In light of the fact that professional bodies may not be accredited as education and training providers, will professional bodies be able to continue offering training as part of their members’ continual professional development (CPD)?

Answer

Professional bodies will be allowed to offer training as part of their CPD offerings to members. However, where such training leads to a registered qualification or part qualification the training must be conducted by an accredited provider.

Question 6

How will SAQA manage the recognition of more than one body or association in a sector?

Answer

SAQA will encourage co-‐operation and collaboration between the different bodies or associations across a sector. If no resolution can be found in this manner, SAQA will consider each application on its own merit.

Question 7

Can a designation be used by more than one professional body?

Answer

No, the policy requires that the same professional designations cannot be registered by more than one recognised professional body in South Africa.

Question 8

Must the underlying qualification to a professional designation be an NQF registered qualification?

Answer

Yes, the underlying qualification to a designation must be an NQF registered qualification.

Question 9

Can the registration of a professional designation take place in the absence of an underlying qualification/s?

Answer

No, there must be a registered underlying qualification/s in order for a designation to be registered on the NQF.

Question 10

Can a part-‐qualification or/and NQF aligned skills programme be regarded as an underlying qualification?

Answer

The term qualification includes part-‐qualifications. This therefore implies that the underlying qualification of a designation can be linked to a part-‐qualification registered on the NQF.

Question 11

Will a professional designation be registered at an NQF Level?

Answer

A professional designation will not be registered at a specific NQF level. However, the underlying qualifications of all professional designations will be registered at a specific NQF level.

Question 12

Can a professional designation be linked to more than one underlying qualification?

Answer

A professional designation can be linked to multiple underlying qualifications. It is the responsibility of the professional body to determine which NQF registered qualification(s) are suitable to be regarded as underlying qualification(s) for the designation.

Question 13

What is the role of the Quality Councils (QCs) in recognising professional bodies on the NQF?

Answer

SAQA is the only body that recognises professional bodies and registers professional designations. If a professional body wishes to contribute to qualification development and quality assurance it must co-‐operate with the relevant QC. The relevant QC will be determined by the type and level of the qualification.

Question 14

Will the Organising Framework of Occupations (OFO) be used to determine titles of professional designations?

Answer

It is the professional body that will determine the titles of designations. However, the titles of underlying qualifications for professional designations in the Trades and Occupations sub-‐framework may be aligned to the OFO.

Question 15

Can a person hold more than one professional designation and will all of these be recorded on the NLRD?

Answer

A person can hold any number of professional designations, each awarded by a different professional body. The NLRD will be able to record more than one designation per person.

Question 16

Different professional bodies are at different stages of development. Will SAQA be able to assist either aspiring or newly created professional bodies in terms of establishing themselves and adhering to the criteria of recognition?

Answer

SAQA will be able to give advice to aspiring or newly created professional bodies.

Question 17

What will the costs to the professional body be in terms of applying to be recognised as a professional body and registering professional designations on the NQF?

Answer

SAQA will not charge professional bodies for the recognition of professional bodies or registration of professional designations on the NQF. However, SAQA reserves the right to recover costs in instances where unnecessary and wasteful costs are incurred.

Question 18

Can a professional body that regulates an industry apply for recognition as a professional body on the NQF?

Answer

A professional body which regulates an industry and which wishes to be involved in the education and training environment can apply for recognition as long as it adheres to the criteria. It will, however, be critical to demarcate the different roles the professional body will play, so that members and other organisations understand the different roles, who performs each role, and what the parameters of the locus of control is for each function. Cont.

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WELCOMEto all our new members!


Question 19

Will internationally recognised professional designations be registered on the NQF by SAQA?

Answer

If an internationally recognised professional designation adheres to the policy and criteria it can be registered on the NQF by SAQA.

Question 20

Will international qualifications which are not registered on the NQF be recognised as underlying qualifications for professional designations?

Answer

The underlying qualification for a professional designation must be an NQF registered qualification. Professional bodies using international qualifications must therefore take the necessary steps to ensure that these qualifications are registered on the NQF.

Question 21

To what degree will good corporate governance be measured when considering an application by a professional body for recognition on the NQF?

Answer

SAQA will, during the evaluation of an application for recognition, assess, amongst other things, the governance structure, the management structure and the sustainability of the professional body.

Question 22

What will happen to a registered professional designation once a recognised professional body is either de-‐recognised or ceases to exist?

Answer

The designation/s of a professional body which loses its recognition status will be de-‐registered. The records of the holders of the designation will reflect a de-‐registration date and no new records will be added against the specific designation. Records of holders of de-‐registered designations will not be removed from the NLRD.

Question 23

Will an applicant to a designation be able to apply for recognition of prior learning (RPL) to achieve the underlying qualification?

Answer

An applicant can achieve the underlying qualification through RPL. However, the RPL of the underlying qualification/s must be managed by an accredited provider.

Question 24

Will Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) play a role in recognising professional bodies and registering professional designations?

Answer

SAQA is the only organisation that can recognise professional bodies and register professional designations for the purposes of the NQF Act. SETAs may however opt to support its members where appropriate.

Question 25

How will the data uploads to the NLRD take place?

Answer

Professional bodies will be required to regularly upload data against the “Specifications for Professional Bodies’ Load Files for the National Learners’ Records Database”. EduDex, a data

validation utility, will be provided free of charge to professional bodies by SAQA and workshops will be offered on how to implement the load specifications.

Question 26

Will SAQA be verifying for third parties the data related to professional bodies and professional designations?

Answer

No, the responsibility to verify the awarding of a designation to its members remains the responsibility of the professional body.

Question 27

What will happen to professional designations which have already been registered on the NQF as qualifications?

Answer

SAQA will interact with the professional body in instances where professional designations have already been registered as qualifications on the NQF to correct the problem.

Question 28

How will SAQA manage the process if public comment in regard to applications for recognition is received from third parties?

Answer

SAQA will interact with the applying body and, if necessary, the relevant sector as a whole, should comments be received during the public comment phase. The SAQA Board will however make the final decision and an appeal process will be put into place.

Question 29

What will happen when a registered qualification which is coupled to a professional designation is changed?

Answer

SAQA will put measures in place to notify professional bodies of changes which providers may make to underlying registered qualifications.

Question 30

What is the difference between statutory and non-‐statutory professional bodies?

Answer

The primary difference between the two is that statutory bodies are mandated by legislation. However, in terms of recognition under the NQF Act, both statutory and non-‐statutory bodies may apply to SAQA.

Question 31

What are the timeframes for the recognition and registration process?

Answer

The pilot process takes place between August 2011 and March 2012. The pilot process will inform the further developments of the recognition and registration processes. Applications for recognition by professional bodies not involved with the pilot project will commence from April 2012.

Question 32

Will there be a continuous monitoring system of the professional bodies once recognition and registration has taken place?

Answer

Regular data uploads to the NLRD will be required and monitored by SAQA. Complaints will also be investigated by SAQA. Further, professional bodies will be expected to keep SAQA informed of changes to the professional body or its registered designations.

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The aim of education is the knowledge not of facts, but of values.Dean William R Inge


Late in 2008, Acts were passed to make substantial changes to the first post-‐1994 national qualifications framework. It was split into three linked frameworks, each with its own quality council: Umalusi, the Higher Education Quality Council and the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations.

This signified a dramatic policy shift and the introduction of the second national qualifications framework. One effect was to reduce substantially the role of the South African Qualifications Authority to co-‐ordinate developments between the three councils.

The authority's power to set standards was handed to the three councils, which all seem set on operating in ways that are not only substantially different from the authority's outcomes-‐based qualifications, but also different from each other.

Umalusi, in general and in further education and training, works predominantly with qualifications that are broadly specified in terms of numbers and types of subjects and have a curriculum. It monitors the work of assessment bodies, which set and administer external examinations. It sees "standards" as a combined result of the quality of the curriculum, the quality and standards of the examinations used to test pupils on the curriculum and the quality of the educational institutions offering the curriculum.

Under the Higher Education Quality Council, universities continue to issue their own qualifications and design their own curriculums, possibly against broad qualifications framework. It was split into three linked frameworks, each with its own quality council: Umalusi, the Higher Education Quality Council and the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations.

This signified a dramatic policy shift and the introduction of the second national qualifications framework. One effect was to reduce substantially the role of the South African Qualifications Authority to co-‐ordinate developments between the three councils.

The authority's power to set standards was handed to the three councils, which all seem set on operating in ways that are not only substantially different from the authority's outcomes-‐based qualifications, but also different from each other.

Umalusi, in general and in further education and training, works predominantly with qualifications that are broadly specified in terms of numbers and types of subjects and have a curriculum. It monitors the work of assessment bodies, which set and administer external examinations. It sees "standards" as a combined result of the quality of the curriculum, the quality and standards of the examinations used to test pupils on the curriculum and the quality of the educational institutions offering the curriculum.

Under the Higher Education Quality Council, universities continue to issue their own qualifications and design their own curriculums, possibly against broad competency statements. They are subject to emerging and still contested quality assurance procedures, but retain their autonomy.

Both Umalusi and the Higher Education Quality Council are not new. They were built on existing institutions that had reputations, established relationships, modes of operation and systems. In other words, in respect of these two bodies, the new qualifications framework seems to have moved more to a model that describes what exists, instead of one that tries to propose what should exist.

A Quality Council for Trades and Occupations was initially created under the minister of labour. But after changes in the Cabinet in 2009 the council was moved to the newly created department of higher education and training.

The launch of this council -‐creates the basis for separate trades and occupational qualifications. What is not yet clear from the initial documents that are publicly available is the qualification and quality assurance model the council will implement. It remains to be seen whether a substantially new policy direction will emerge, or whether the new council, laden with associated experts and consultants in setting standards and assuring quality, will drive a reformed version of the same flawed model.

A model seems to be emerging in which the state agency (in this case, the council) has legislative and oversight responsibility, but will contract out many functions to accredited entities outside the state. In the absence of strong capacity to manage and evaluate these contracts, the risk is that a heavy focus on accreditation will be maintained without increasing the operational responsiveness and effectiveness of the system.

Vocational education and skills trainingSchools have not been affected by the qualifications and quality assurance problems, although the repeated attempts to develop quality assurance and inspection systems for schools have had their own share of problems, as has the curriculum. In higher education, quality assurance has been contested and criticised, but it did not get caught in the complicated systems of the first qualifications framework.

Furthermore, with few exceptions, none of the sectors used the new qualifications generated by standards bodies. However, for learnerships and other forms of workplace-‐based training, the new outcomes-‐based qualifications registered by the qualifications framework were the only qualifications officially available.

Private and community-‐based providers, including organisations that wanted to do youth development work, were forced to deal with the framework. Further education and training (FET) colleges had the worst of it, because they not only worked within the department of education systems and its qualifications and examinations but also, in as far as they offered learnerships and skills programmes, were obliged to deal with sector education and training authorities (Setas) and the prescribed accreditation and decentralised assessment processes.

The end result was an elaborate system of qualifications development and quality assurance based on the development of outcomes-‐based qualifications and unit standards, and the accreditation of providers rated against outcomes-‐based qualifications and unit standards.

But this immensely complex system operated only for the small, disparate and mainly weak system of provision for workplace-‐based training, occupational training, continuing professional development, community development and adult education. Instead of a public policy focused on building a coherent system that strengthened the capacity of state providers and supported the capacity of private and community-‐based providers, the policy focus was on regulating weak provision through a complex web of quality assurance mechanisms.

In these sectors of the education and training system where provision is diverse, ranging from the public FET colleges to large private distance education providers and individuals offering packages to workplaces or enterprise-‐specific training centres, it is much harder to locate anything like a "community" or "professional group". Consequently, the standards as written down came to have much larger force and much more weight was accorded to them.

Cont.

SKILLS AND VOCATIONAL TRAINING NEED RETHINK ON QUALIFICATIONS

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31 AUG 2012 14:54 -‐ STEPHANIE ALLAIS -‐ http://mg.co.za/article/2012-‐08-‐31-‐

http://mg.co.za/author/stephanie-allais

http://mg.co.za/author/stephanie-allais

http://mg.co.za/article/2012-08-31-skills-and-vocational-training-need-rethink-on-qualifications

http://mg.co.za/article/2012-08-31-skills-and-vocational-training-need-rethink-on-qualifications


This diverse and heterogeneous group of organisations obviously has never had a single qualifications system. The trade-‐test system could perhaps be seen as the strongest centre of gravity, but this accounts for only a fraction of all vocational education.

This possibly made providers of these areas of education and training particularly vulnerable to the problems of the first qualifications framework, particularly when funding was substantially linked to the adoption of the new qualifications and, in many instances, was also linked to accreditation by one of the new quality assurance bodies, which was often also based on the use of the new qualifications.

Funding in this field includes collecting workplace levies, getting funding through official government channels such as the National Skills Fund or from the Setas. It also includes getting funding from independent donors and sometimes international donors, who wanted to comply with what was perceived to be the official qualifications and quality assurance system.

There are many other unresolved issues and ongoing problems. A point of contention is the separation of vocational education, largely under Umalusi, and occupational education, under the trades and occupation council. Another potential p rob lem i s that i f ve ry d ifferent qualifications and quality assurance models are developed for the three frameworks, the gulf between occupational and other qualifications may increase and the dream of an integrated system will be more elusive than ever.

Another important issue that must be addressed is which education, training and development programmes need to lead to qualifications. One of the reasons for the introduction of the national qualifications framework was to foster the recognition of prior learning, and the framework was designed to encompass all learning in all sectors and at all levels.

M a n y p r o g r amme s t h a t r e q u i r e considerable flexibility to address the specific needs of employers or communities have been forced into a straitjacket through the unit standard system. This makes the work of providers more difficult and also makes it less likely that they will meet the needs of their clients and communities.

The priority should be to open up the quality assurance and qualifications system, recognising that not all learning and education has to lead to qualifications or part-‐qualifications. This should be accompanied by strengthening the external assessment and centralised curriculum systems for programmes leading to national qualifications.

It is not over yetIt is possible that we will see more changes to the latest framework, creating version 2.1, or even more substantial changes that could produce a third framework. In the green paper released in January, the higher -‐education and training department provides options for changes, some of w h i c h w o u l d e n t a i l s u b s t a n t i a l simplification of the model.

There is a strong suggestion in the green paper that the unit standards-‐based model should be abandoned entirely and, what is very welcome, a pronouncement that no provider should be forced to use unit standards. There are also proposals to tighten the quality assurance of national qualifications by centralising assessments and loosening the quality assurance of education and training that does not necessarily lead to a qualification, enabling providers to offer programmes without having to be accredited and without registered assessors and moderators.

One of the ways to improve the framework is to do away with its levels and create a clear relationship between the main national qualifications — in other words, which qualification can lead to which other qualification.

If these changes are accepted, it will be far easier for community-‐based organisations to develop responsive programmes, including training programmes, for young people.

But there are powerful stakeholders who have vested interests in the current systems and it remains to be seen how much change the department will be able to achieve.

The green paper also suggests a substantial expansion of FET colleges and the building of new institutions for adult education, both of which would dramatically increase the educational options available to out-‐of-‐school and unemployed youths. But the paper is weak on practicalities and it remains to be seen how this is going to be put into action.

Even if problems with quality assurance and qualifications policy are resolved, many problems will remain for young people who are not in employment, education or training. Policymakers hope that vocational education reform can solve unemployment and many other socioeconomic problems, but education cannot compensate for society or address all its needs.

Employers in industry also often have unrealistic expectations, particularly in t e rm s o f e x p e c t i n g e d u c a t i o n a l programmes to produce workplace-‐ready graduates with good communication, reading and writing skills, who are able to work in teams, take the initiative, lead and follow through and have high levels of technical expertise.

Even so, improving the nature and quality of vocational education, skills training, community development and adult education programmes will improve the situation of the young people who are not in education, training or work. But this will be difficult to do without substantially changing the qualifications and quality assurance model that has been used in these parts of the education system.

Stephanie Allais is a senior researcher in the education policy unit of the University of the Witwatersrand, leading the development of research into education and the labour market. This is an edited extract from her chapter in Shaping the Future of South Africa's Youth: Rethinking Post-‐school Education and Skills Training in South Africa, edited by Helene Perold, Nico Cloete and Joy Papier and published by African Minds for the Centre for Higher Education Transformation, the Southern African Labour and Development Research Unit and the Further Education and Training Institute

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CIMAP October 2012 Newsletter

Education

Transcript of CIMAP October 2012 Newsletter